The Center for International Studies (CIS) is delighted to announce a new pledge agreement with Vytautas Magnus University, representing a consortium of major Lithuanian universities, national companies, businesses, and research institutions. The agreement was signed on January 28 at a ceremony held at Lithuania’s Presidential Palace, with the US ambassador attending in person, while MIT representatives participated virtually from Cambridge, MA.

This new agreement of $900,000 over three years will establish the MIT-Lithuania Seed Fund to promote cutting-edge research collaborations between MIT faculty and their Lithuanian counterparts. It will also fund student internships through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). MISTI Lithuania will be available for MIT undergraduate and graduate students interested in research or working with leading organizations in Lithuania.

“We are living in dynamic times where humanity, our planet, and climate are challenged at unthinkable levels and our daily survival requires collaboration between diverse spheres of knowledge production in different parts of the world,” said MIT Professor Gediminas Urbonas. Originally from Lithuania and now director of the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, he has played a pivotal role in forging connections between the Institute and his home country.

Lithuania was the first of the republics to break out of the Soviet empire in 1991, explained Professor Urbonas. Driven by the ideals of peace and freedom, it was eager to re-establish its international cooperation with the best in the world to sustain democracy, civil rights and ecological repair, he said.

“Lithuania could offer a unique ecosystem of laboratories that engage pressing challenges of technology innovation in the fields of energy and sustainable environment, health, life sciences, agro-innovation and food tech. By learning from MIT’s special intellectual character and environment of unique interdisciplinary research centers that cut across the conventional disciplinary boundaries we can redefine research and introduce ideas that were previously impossible to think about,” added Professor Urbonas.

Professor Juozas Augutis, the Rector of Vytautas Magnus University, echoed Prof. Urbonas’ sentiment saying that he was excited to partner with MIT. “This collaboration is a significant step for Lithuania, demonstrating our commitment to innovation in key areas like digital technologies, entrepreneurship, biotechnologies, sustainable and accessible decarbonization of energy and industrial systems,” he stated.